Bank vault safe



4 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN V EN TOR.

v ATTORNEY W. J. H. RUSCHMEYER BANK VAULT S AFB Filed Feb. 24, 1930 July 21, 1931.

Jifly 21, 1 31. w. J. H. RUSCHMEYER BANK VAULT SAFE Filed Feb. .24, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 I N VEN TOR.

' ATTORNEY 1931. w. J. H. RUSCHMEYER 1,815,581

' BANK VAULT SAFE Fil d F b, 24, 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 IN V EN TOR.

Patented July 21, 1931 WILLIAIi'X J. H. RUSCHMEYER, 5F TOLEDO, OHIO BANK VAULT SAFE Application filed February 24, 1930. Serial No.

his invention relates to bank vault sates, and more particularly to an improved arrangement of doors whereby the entrance to the safe may be securely closed. \Vhile the invention has been illustrated applied to asa'te. it will be understood that may also be used in connection ith buildings or other structures.

One object of the invention is to provide the safe with inner and outer doors for its entrance so mounted that when closed, the outer doors will be disposed in overlying and shielding relation to the inner doors and thereby make access to the inner doors impossible when the outer doors are shut.

Another object of the invention is to so arrange the doors that innerdoors may be hingcdly mounted and outer doors slidably mounted. and not only overlie the inner doors when closed. but also bear against the outer face ot the wall at opposite sides of the entrance or doorway tor an appreciable distanre when closed.

Another object of the invention is to pro ride the doors, with securing means having ililit'lilllfl elements adapted to be firmly secure by ha held in place by a combination lock sti-netrire and to further permit the securing bars to include explosive receptacles as a satety elel'nentin case it endeavored to remove the bars by application of heat.

Another object of the invention is to so arrange the securing means for the doors that certain of the same will be operative to lock and release the door. where others will con stitute deceptive devices.

The invention is illustrated in the accom-.

p: lying drawings. wherein Fig. l is a view showing a portion of a safe in horizontal section with the doors closed and disclosed in top plan.

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 with the doors open.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. alis a sectional view taken along the line &-i of Fig. 3.

Fig. is a view in elevationshowingthe.

doors closed.

g- 6 is an enlarged fragmentary section al view of one of the securing bars.

7 is fragmentary sectional view showin a. slightly modified form of locking means tor the .doors.

Fig. 8 is a sectional view illustrating another modified form of locking means.

Fig. 9 is a sectional view taken along the line 99 of Fig. 8.

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating a modifiedform of door construction.

The numeral 1 indicates a portion oi a sate or similar structure including a front wall 2 having an entrance 3 formed therein intermediate its width. The side walls t project forwardly from the front wall and between the side walls extend upper and lower walls 5 and 6 in which are formed grooves 7 and S constituting tracks. These tracks er;- tend the full width of the upper and lower walls and are parallel to the front wall.

In order to close the entrance 3 there has been provided inner doors 9 which are hingedly mounted at opposite sides of: the entrance. as shown at 10 and adapted to tit. snugly "r lillin the entrance when closed with their joining edge faces overlapping. l h be noted that the contacting edge faces ot the doors are stepped as shown in Figs. 1 and in order to prevent a prying instrument from being forced between the closed doors. Fortions of the doors project outwardly from the wall when the doors are closed and these projeetin portions are also formed with stepped edge races.

The outer doors 11 are of greater dimensions than the inner doors, and these outer doors may be referred to as safety doors a nd extend the full height between the upper and lower walls 5 and 6 and have their upper and lower edge faces formed with longitudinally extending ribs engaged in the grooves or tracks 7 and 8. These ribs, indicated by the numeral 12, may be substantially triangular 9 in cross section, as shown in Figs. 3 and 7, or they may be rectangular in shape as shown in Fig. 10, by the numeral 12. Antitrictien balls -13 are provided in order to allow the doors to slide easily and these hearing halls. in:

may be retained in place in any desired manner.

In order to secure the doors when closed, there has been provided bars 1% slidably mounted in pockets 15 formed in the inner doors and similar bars 16 slidably mounted in pockets 17 formed in the outer doors. These bars are to be projected outwardly in order to engage in sockets 18 and 19 formed in the upper and lower walls and in order to be so, the inner portions of the bars are cut to form rack teeth with which mesh teeth of pinions 20 and 21 carried by posts 22 and 23. These posts 22 and 23 are rotatably mounted in the doors and at their outer ends are formed with turning heads 2% and 25, through which are formed passages 26 and 27, as shown in Fig. 2. Itwill thus be seen that the posts may be easily rotated by grasping their turning heads and movement imparted to the securing bars in order to project or retract them.

By referring to Fig. 3 it will be seen that the posts 22 of the inner doors and the posts 23 of the outer doors are disposed in their upper and lower portions and intermediate the heights of the doors are located other posts 28 and 29 which are rotatably mounted and at their outer ends form the turning heads 30 and 31 similar to the heads 24: and 25. These posts 29 are not engaged with securing bars and may be referred to as dummy posts as they are merely intended to give the impression that the doors have upper, lower and intermediate securing means.

Sockets 32 and 33 project from the inner and outer doors in spaced relation to 0ppo-' site sides of the turning heads of the post carried thereby and these sockets are rigidly fiXQCl to the doors. 13v this arrangement, securing bars may be passed through the passsages formed in the turning heads of the p ....ts with their end portions engaged through the sockets and it will be impossible to rotate the posts and retrac the securing bars 1- 1 and 16 until the bars carried by the posts and sockets have been removed.

The securing bars for the posts are indi cated in general by the numeral 3-1- and 35 and are similar in construction to those shown in my prior Patent, No. 1,427,551 issued Au gust 29, 1922, and each is constructed as shown in Fig. 6. Referring to this figure, it will be seen that each includes a hollow bar 36 having a head 37 at one end of sufficient diameter to prevent it from passing inwardly through the socket which supports the bar. A glass tube 38 filled with powder 39 extends axially through the bar 36 and about this tube the bar is filled with a chalking substance such as infusorial earth 39 which acts as a shock absorber and prevents danger of explosions in case a high explosive is used instead of powder. This earth also serves to prevent danger of the powder being damaged by dampness.

Collars 40, which may be referred to as setting rings, fit loosely about the tubular bar and are formed with grooves 41 through which lug 12 projecting from the tubular bar may pass when the rings are properly set. Unless a person knows the proper combination the rings may not be easily set in order to align the grooves 41 and therefore a person not familiar with the combination will find it very diii'icult to remove the bars. In addition to placing an explosive within the tubula r securing bars, the sockets may be similarly loaded as shown at 13 and also, if so desired, the turning posts may be loaded as shown at 44. It will thus be seen that it will be impossible to rotate the posts in order to withdraw the securing bars or rods 14 and 16 when the securing bars for the posts are in place, and if it is attempted to cut through the securing bars by means of an acetylene torch, the heat will cause the powder to explode and seriously injure any one tampering with the safe.

Instead of having each post actuate a single securing bar or rod, it is sometimes desirable to provide additional securing rods and in order to do so each post may carry a number of pinions, as shown at 45 in Fig. '7. These pinions mesh with rack teeth of a series of rods or bars 46 for the reception of which sockets 17 have been provided and when the post is rotated, all of the rods will be projectcd or retracted according to the direction in which the post is turned.

Instead of providing a series of rods, as shown in Fig. 7, the structures disclosed in Figs. 3 and 9 may be employed. In this construction the securing means consists of a fork having a number of prongs or arms 48 slidablv received in slots 49 formed in the door and connected by a cross-bar 50. The cross bar moves in a pocket 51 formed in the door at the inner ends of the slots 49 and a shank 52 extends from the cross bar intermediate its ends into a pocket 53 for engagement by the pinion 54: carried by the turning post. It. will thus be seen that by this construction only a single pinion is necessary, but at the same time. a series of securing arms will be projected from the door.

When the safe is to be closed, the inner doors 9 are first shut and secured, after which the securing bars 34 are applied through the sockets and turning heads, and the outer doors are then slid to a closed position. These outer doors when closed completely hide the inner doors, and since they have portions which extend to the front wall 2 of the safe, and bear against outer side edge faces of the extended portions of the inner doors, the inner doors will be shielded from the sides as well as from the front.

After the outer doors have been closed, and

the securing bars 35 set in place, it will be impossible to open them until the bars or rods 16 have been again retracted, and as these doors are very thick, access may not be had to the inner doors until the outer doors are opened.

In view of the thickness of the outer doors, they are very heavy, and in order to permit them to be moved, to open or closed position, therehave been provided electric motors 55 carrying drums 56 upon which drawing cables 57 are wound. The cables have, at the ends, hooks 58 which may be engaged with the sockets near the outer side edges of the doors, as shown in Fig. 5, in order to more the doors to an open position, or engage with sockets near the inner side edges of the doors, as indicated by dotted lines, when it is desired to close the doors. By rendering the motors inoperative, after closing the doors, it will be practically impossible to open them, even if a burglar should succeed in releasing the fastenings for the doors without becoming injured.

What is claimed is:

l. A structure having a wall formed with an entrance intermediate its ends and other walls projecting from the first wall beyond the outer face thereof, tracks being provided between the second mentioned walls and extending across the entrance, inner doors hingedly mounted at opposite sides of the entrance and when closed having portions projecting outwardly and formed with stepped edge faces, means to releasably secure said doors when closed, outer doors slidable along said tracks and having facing edge faces abutting intermediate the width of said entrance when closed, portions of the sliding doors being thickened inwardly to bear against the outer face of the first wall and having stepped inner edge faces abutting the stepped edge faces of the extended portions of the swing doors when the inner and outer doors are closed, portions of the outer doors between the thickened portions being spaced from the inner doors to clear the securing means thereof when the doors are closed, and means to releasably secure the outer doors closed.

2. A structure having a. wall formed with an entrance, inner doors hingedly mounted for movement into and out of a closed position, and when closed having portions projecting outwardly from the wall at opposite side edges of the entrance, outer doors slidably mounted in front of the wall for movement transversely of the wall from open position beyond opposite sides of the entrance to a closed position, and when closed having portions extending in front of the closed inner doors and meeting in shielding relation to the inner doors, said outer doors having thickened portions contacting with the wall and adapted to bear against side edge faces of the projecting portions of the inner doors when closed, means to secure the inner doors when closed, and means to secure the outer doors when closed.

3. A structure including a wall formed with an entrance, inner doors movable into closing relation with the entrance and having portions projecting outwardly from the wall when closed, securing means for said doors having actuating means projecting from the outer faces of the doors, locking means for said actuating means disposed externally of said doors, outer doors slidably mounted for movement into and out of a closed position and having portions of reduced thickness extending in front of the inner doors in spaced relation to the actuating means and locking means carried thereby, and meeting in shielding relation to the inner doors when closed, the thicker portions of the outer doors extending towards the wall for contacting with the outer face thereof, and adapted to bear against side edge faces of the projecting portions of the inner doors when the outer doors are closed.

4-. A structure having a wall formed with an entrance, side walls projecting outwardly from the first wall, upper and lower walls projecting outwardly from the first wall between the side walls and formed with grooves extending longitudinally of the first wall in front of the same to form tracks, inner doors hingedly mounted at opposite sides of said entrance and adapted to be swung inwardly into the entrance when closed, portions of the inner doors projecting outwardly beyond the first wall when closed, securing means for the inner doors having actuating elements projecting from the outer faces thereof, outer doors in front of the first wall having their upper and lower edge faces formed with ribs engaged in the track-forming grooves of the upper and lower walls and carrying anti-friction members to facilitate the sliding of the outer doors, the outer doors when closed having portions of reduced thickness extending across the inner doors in spaced relation to the securing means for the inner doors and contacting with each other in shielding relation to the inner doors and securing means therefor and other portions bearing against the side edge faces of the projecting portion of the inner doors when closed, and means to releasably secure the outer doors when closed.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

WILLIAM J. H. RUSCHMEYER. 

